Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Little mister started getting crummy on Thanksgiving. By yesterday he was in full out sick, throwing up mode. Here he is this morning, feeling lousy :( He and I stayed home from church. Despite feeling poorly we managed to decorate the tree last night. It was fun!

. . . and crazy!

Lyddie loved the star.

A Little blurry--but she was happy!

Thanksgiving with my family

Me at almost 36 weeks preggo with Isabelle--where is that darned baby??

Grampy and Lyddie--we got 2 years out of her Thanksgiving dress I made her

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Elijah is getting pretty good and remembering bible stories and people from the bible. Today he was playing motorcycle and he had his little 'do rag on his frog and they crashed. Unfortunately, his poor stuffed frog died (according to him) and he buried it (under toys) and put plastic flowers on top. Here is what he told me . . .

"Keep Lydia away. The dead frog is gross. He's in the cement-tary and those are his plastic flowers. We planted him there."

A little while later Froggy was magically back on the cycle. I asked if he had come back to life and EJ said . . .

"Yes. His name is Zazzerfuss and it is a magic miracle. He was in the cement-tary a few days and Jesus came and made him come back alive so he could play with me."

Monday, November 23, 2009

Whew--after a much neded 2 week break from the kitchen, during which my WONDERFUL mom friends provided dinner, I got my feet wet and tried cooking today. It was challenging--both kids were napless and grouchy and wanted to be held, picked up, paid attention to . . . but I perservered and made a DELICIOUS dinner that everyone enjoyed.

Elijah was happy because he got to peel and cut the carrots (well--he worked on one while I did the rest--can I just say how much I love the Pampered Chef Kid's knife??). Lydia was happy because she got to spray water everywhere and "Clean off" the baby corn and water chestnuts. Those tasks kept them busy enough for me to chop the broccoli and pepper and squash, roast the cashews and start the noodles.

We ate at 4:45 because the kiddos had been up since 5am with no naps. They were hungry and snarfed it all down except the noodles--they didn't want those. So they ate 1/2 orange each and about 1 cup of sauteed teriaki veggies with cashews. They drank milk and had spoons of peanut butter for dessert--don't know how or why they are on that kick but they both ask for peanut butter for dessert even when offered candy or cookies.

All in all a pretty successful return to the kitchen. Hubby is in there now cleaning up :) My arm is killing me but that is more from the go go go of the day and the fact that my skin was stuck on the dressing when they changed it today so it is just raw and achy. I find out tomorrow if I have responded well enough to get the PICC line out on Wednesday after 12 treatments. I hope I have!! I want to be able to decorate this weekend and if it isn't out I am on weight restruction and I won't be able to help get stuff down from the attic or help set up our tree so it will probably have to wait another week.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Yes--the Alice box is still popular. We're getting a new bigger box tomorrow. They were playing "nap" and kept getting loud toys to wake each other up.

Despite a horrible night and whiny attitudes somehow going outside makes it all better and the giggles start coming a mile a minute. I love the fact that it was 65 degrees in the middle of November--too perfect!

Check out the toungue--its her new thing--maybe she'll be the next Michael Jordan??

Yard Sales Rock--Power wheels for $8--the speed it right too, about .001 mph :)Pushing his sissy in the swing. He always seems to forget she is going to come back and gets smacked in the chest. He is trying to be sweet though.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Life here has been crazy! I never imagined how much I need my arm to do stuff, nor how much I valued and used my mornings until they were both taken away! The good news is that the treatment seems to be working and my iron levels are slowly increasing.

The kids continue to have problems adjusting to our new "routine" of sorts and I have been treated to several sleepless nights and afternoons as well as some pretty intense tantrums. For the most part large amounts of snuggle therapy in the afternoons and evenings seems to be doing the trick or at least getting us through.

I feel guilty that I am not more patient with the kiddos, especially Elijah, but when that tantrum stretches itself into the one and two hour mark I tend to lose it. The "break" I have in the morning help me to recharge a little bit, but the laying around doing nothing while my house slowly gets filthy (I can't lift the vacuum), the laundry piles up (I can't lift a basket of laundry) is driving me nuts! I feel like the least productive woman in the world right now. Today I did manage to get some laundry done by throwing the dirty bags downstairs and getting Elijah to drag it to the laundry room then breaking each load into 1/4 and carrying it upstairs in tiny loads to get put away. Not very time efficient but at least I have underwear for the morning.

Only 6 more days with this wretched PICC line and then I will be free. I think we will all do a happy dance when I can lift my arm without it hurting and pick up the kiddos with no worries. It will make my Thanksgiving day #1 thing to be thankful for (the #2 thing has got to be Silk Nog--that stuff is awesome!).

Monday, November 16, 2009

Starting with today I didn't let my kids eat entire bowls of pudding at lunch and then put Kidsongs on when we got home and encourage them to dance like maniacs while I ran around and straightened up and started laundry. I most certainly didn't do that in an effort to get them tired enough to nap! I would never do that!

I would also never just lay on the couch EVERY night this past week and let my husband clean up the kitchen because I am just too lazy to do it. Nope--and I wouldn't use a PICC line in my arm to beg off and get his pity so that he happily did the cleaning with no complaints instead of rolling his eyes at me. Trust me--I am not milking this PICC line thing at all.

This week I haven't been completely humbled and blessed by all of my wonderful mom friends who have cooked for us and cared for our children. I take all this pampering for granted and feel entitled to get the help.

This past week I didn't get the PICC line and go by myself to the hospital simply to avoid the embarassment of having my hubby and/or my girlfirends seeing me freak out over a needle in the arm. Nope--I am way too cool to freak out over a little something like that. I would never end up blubbering like an idiot on the x-ray table during the procedure sure that I was bleeding to death.

Finally, I didn't refer to our third blessing Isabelle as an "alien freak in my belly" last night after eating ice cream. It didn't gross me out in the least to have her somersaulting, assaulting my major organs and lava-lamping in my belly for over 2 hours. My hubby didn't get grossed out either. Nope--this is God's blessing and we would NEVER refer to her as "creepy."

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

My friends are awesome and it is so wonderful to have them to take care of my kids. I am ever so grateful that so many people have stepped up to take over childcare so that I can focus on getting well! It is such a relief knowing the kids are well cared for and playing and having fun.

It is stressing Lydia out though to be going so far off her normal routine. Being with someone other than mommy for more than 2 hours a day, often times a stranger someone, is wreaking havoc with my angel.

No napping.

Crabby.

Not sleeping at night.

Horribly clingy and paci-holic, "wuvvy"-holic behaviors.

My poor angel!

A weekend of normalcy will do her a world of good.

Today she stayed with "rampy" (Grampy) and EJ too. I left them both smiling and laughing. She waved cheerfully as I left. Oh yeah! I felt good, she felt good. I got to the doctor nervous about the dressing change and treatment and my blood pressure was down over 10 points from yesterday. Leaving my children laughing does wonders for my stress level too--even when I am nervous about myself.

The doctor says I am already looking "pinker" and he is going to test my levels on Tuesday. If they look good I might even be able to get the PICC line out on this Friday! We'll have to see. He thinks my body is really liking this therapy and responding well. I am sure the therapy is great but also sure that all the prayers you guys are sending my way are responsible.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Tiny belly finally starting to show!!! 33 weeks and some change now! I'm not sporting some 80's fad either--that's the sleeve to keep my PICC line from getting stuck on my clothes.Morning snuggles with the kiddos--they are both really clingy since I got this PICC line and they have to spend every morning away from me. Elijah FREAKS when he sees the tube and Lyddie just says "Tube mama OUCH!"

Today I had my 3rd treatment of iron and an OB appointment. It felt like a long day of doctors! The iron treatments are going well--I wasn't able to tolerate a faster drip like they had hoped--made me feel short of breath and my heart feel funny so they are just going to run it over an hour everyday instead of speeding it up. I get really nauseous when they flush the line but other than that it isn't too bad. I am a little anxious about tomorrow--it will be the first dressing change. Pulling all that tape and stuff off while it hurts as much as it still does makes me cringe. I am sure I will get through it though--the staff is great!

The OB appointment went well. He wants another ultrasound in 2 weeks since I haven't gained any weight in the last month and a half. He just wants to err on the side of caution. I am kinda excited he is willing to wait another 2 weeks (he wanted to do it today) so Justin can come.

Discipline issues are slowly improving. Every battle I win I end up not having to fight again. Thank goodness Mr. Stubborn has a good memory! Lydia is super clingy though and not napping well or sleeping well because of the upset in her routine. I will be glad to be back to being a stay at home mommy instead of a part-time stay at home mommy.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Ugh--I know that title is awful but after surviving today I can put whatever I want at the top of my post!

Yesterday I had my follow up appointment with the hematologist. As I was hoping he had a plan of action--my backup plan was to beat him about the head with his clipboard until he figured out a way to fix my anemia. Anyway--Praise God I am not deficient in anything except B12 and Iron. I have a low RBC count but it is because my body is lacking the building blocks to make them and not that I have cancer in the bone marrow or some other problem. I got two huge injections of B-12 yesterday and will have to get more at the 6 week post-partum checkup. Not a big deal. Unfortunately the iron is a big deal. Despite iron supplements and natrual fixes and even eating 6 pieces of liver over the past week my iron levels are still falling and my hemaglobin is really low. Not good. Especially not good if I hemmorage again during delivery like I have with my past two babies. The plan he had was for IV iron therapy over the course of the next 3 weeks.

So this morning I bravely marched into the hospital and got a PICC line inserted. It was AWFUL. First I am a needle phobic. Second, I don't look pregnant and they didn't treat me like I was pregnant in my opinion (though I could just be a grouch because I was EXTREMLY grouchy this morning). I got there at 7:15 and they couldn't find the billing code so I have to go back tomorrow to pay--grrr. Then they finally get me back and put me on the table at 7:50 after I have signed all the stuff. They wrap my tummy with lead so Isabelle doesn't get radiated when they do the x-rays. Then, with me flat on my back, they START to set up the room. I laid there for 45 minutes before the doctor even got there. By then I had to pee, was having trouble breating (flat on my back with the added weight of a baby who's over 4lbs and the lead shield), and BEYOND nervous and freaking out seeing the nurse pull all these huge needles and stuff out. After one hour they finally started prepping me which included coving my face completely with a shield and just leaving me there while they cleaned my arm. Yikes! Can't see anything and then the doctor said--"Were gonna start now--little bee sting" and that was it. The whole procedure he didn't say anything to me like "How are you doing?" Or "You're going to feel tons of warm wet stuff flowing down your arm don't worry you aren't bleeding to death even though we're threading this thing into your heart." Nothing. Keep in mind he couldn't see my face and the fact that I was crying and trying my hardest not to throw up. Not to mention it HURT a ton. He numbed up where the thing went in but it felt like he was threading a boiling spaghetti noodle through my armpit. It was terrible. He finally finished and I got up, got un-dizzy, and RAN to the bathroom and threw up. Whew--nerves. Poor Isabelle got WAY too much adrenaline today--she was bouncing around for hours like a little jumping bean.

Then I got to one hilight of my day--the Hematologist office. They took me right back and it was a nice comfy bed with cable TV and magazines with a private room and dim lighting. The nurse practioner came in a talked with me and made sure I was OK. The nurse came in and started the iron and kept checking on me to make sure I was fine. After 15 minutes she dimmed the lights and I took a nap for an hour while the iron went in. Wonderful staff--very nice--I am actually looking forward to an hour of kid free time there every day until Thanksgiving. They are so sweet!

Then it was back to the daily grind of taking care of kids. I got Elijah from preschool and his teachers were asking how I was doing (since I didn't drop him off). I told them what was up (briefly) and we headed home. I got Lydia down for a nap alright but Elijah was another story. He knew mommy couldn't pick him up so he chose his first battle to be going up the stairs. He refused to do it. It took more than 45 minutes and lots of DISCIPLINE for him to get his hiney up those stairs. It was absolutely awful. Of course the constant screaming woke up Lydia so just as EJ was going down I had to get her up. She was still tired though and spent the whole afternoon whining. When EJ got up he was still testing every limit. He hit me and his sissy and spit on me then refused to go to the time out chair. I finally got him in the chair and after his time out he refused to apologize and instead sat there for more than 2 hours just glaring at us. He is the most strong willed child EVER!

Then the second hilight of the day--dinner. My MOPS group has totally stepped up to the plate in helping with childcare and meals. Crystal brought us some cheddar broccoli soup tonight that was to die for. The kids each ate two huge bowls of it. It was delicious! It was also wonderful not to have to cook. I am really looking forward to the meals people have planned. Maybe its selfish but I am going to soak up every bit of generosity that people are willing to give. I love making meals for new moms and stuff and hope that they enjoy it as much as I really enjoyed getting that meal tonight. I also REALLY need the help right now as my arm has gotten progressively more painful and I can't move it without crying right now. I was going to post a pic of me with my PICC line but I just took a look at it and there is some bleeding and it is generally gross so I'll just save that one for the scrapbook :)

Saturday, November 07, 2009

So here they are!! At long last!! I was again thrilled to have gone to get their picture made considering EJ didn't wear his costume on Halloween this year. Last year they were both mopey and not smiling because they had Hand Foot and Mouth. Halloween is just not turning out to be our best holiday.

OK--the together shots were a joke--Elijah didn't want to wear his hood, they didn't like the background, they weren't paying attention etc. He was being silly--she was angry because I just grabbed the mini-marshmellow bag out of her hands.

The cutest Little Red Riding Hood on the planet--this is the one I got of her.

The most adorable Big Bad Wolf ever! This is the one I ordered of him. He was actually sliding down the background again and again and she snapped him mid-slide. I love how happy he looks--like he actually likes the costume. Considering this is the one and only time he has worn the costume I am VERY glad I got a picture.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Lydia is cracking me up lately with her little phrases. This week I have heard:1) I'm stretching it out. (Stretching first thing in the morning)2) Night Night tight sleep no bugs bite! (Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't let the Bedbugs Bite)3) Oh No! They all fell out! (when she dumped a bowl of Kix on the floor)4) These my stinky pinkies. ( after pulling off her socks)5) My tootsies breathing (to OB last week on why she was barefoot)6) 'Lijah's a grump-nugget. (On listening to EJ throw one of his many tantrums)7) This bug cool--High Five Mommy! (on seeing her new twilight ladybug this morning)

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

In about 7 weeks! Anyway--I know some family has asked what the children would like for Christmas since they like to search for deals and order online. I've put links to the kids' wish lists on the side of the blog. I will add more as they mention things. If you get them something and want me to take it off the list just let me know.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

I was up with the kids at least twice an hour last night--they were both coughing and everytime they did they would wake up and be disoriented and flip out. One flipping out would usually wake up the other--especially since EJ's sound machine wasn't working. Lydia flipped out so much she ended up puking all over everything. Thankfully Justin was still up so he helped me out with that one.

With the time change naps were effectively one hour later :( They didn't nap well--too tired from being up all night and being stretched all day.

We headed to WalMart just EJ and me to get a new sound machine since his is on the blink. Its going up there now on birds--super annoying and it doesn't drown out anything. I will switch it when I go up and know he's good and asleep.

We managed to get a good dinner in the kids before meltdowns but bedtime was "late" due to the time change and they both flipped out during the bath. Lydia got so upset she ended up throwing up all over herself and daddy (resulting in another bath and another round of throwing up in the bath). Elijah pitched such a fit in his room he ended up throwing up all over himself and me. UGH! I hate that my kids tantrum until they burst!

We got everyone cleaned up and in bed.

Thank goodness.

Tonight is one of those nights I didn't want the responsibility for raising my kids. I felt good about a couple of things though--1) we were calm2) no yelling took place3) Justin stepped up and started the barf load of laundry while I got EJ down so I didn't have to smell it again.4) I did all of that on less than one hour sleep last night and an hour nap this afternoon!5) I didn't fall asleep during church this morning (unrelated but I am proud I didn't)

About Me

Covey is a single mom to three wonderful children. She works at Greenfield school and teaches science to preschoolers through 7th grade. In her spare time she loved to decorate cakes, crochet and scrapbook.

Covey

I am a mom and a follower of Jesus. I am the primary author of this blog. I strive to love my life and be content every day but occasionally use this a forum to vent or seek advice. Most of the posts are about our life and my kids--I use the blog to help me go back and relive the funny things that happen and our struggles and trials. I am very interested in green living (cloth diapering, making my own cleaners and detergents etc.), organic gardening and cooking and in saving money. I strive to be the best mother I can. I am a science teacher at Greenfield School and loveteaching.